“They care if the tax is fair, and can pay for hospitals and schools and if there are two tax systems or one,” he said.

Mr Chalmers said it was an attempt to distract from tax cuts for multi nationals and the big banks.

Labor will take a close look at any income tax cut, but Mr Chalmers said Labor is in a better position to offer bigger cuts because of savings elsewhere.

“Labor has a far more responsible way of going about it,” he said.

“In a way the allows us to invest in things society cares about like health and education.”

Malcolm Turnbull said the budget would ensure essential services like education and health, but be sustainable and affordable - and that the government would live within its means.

Five billion dollars has been pledged for the Melbourne Airport rail line. (AAP) (AAP)

The expectation is the Treasurer will tomorrow night announce a return to surplus, although modest, in 2020, a year earlier than promised helped by higher than forecast revenues.

Victoria

Nearly $8 billion from the federal budget is earmarked for major Victorian road and rail projects in a bid to beat congestion.

The $7.8 billion package includes the $5 billion already promised for heavy rail to Melbourne Airport, $1.75 billion for the North East Link road, and $475 million for a rail link between Monash University's Caulfield and Clayton campuses.

It is a "good day" for Victoria, Premier Daniel Andrews said.

"I spoke to the Prime Minister just before eight o'clock this morning and on behalf of all Victorians I thanked him for the additional funding," Mr Andrews told reporters.

Queensland

Queenslanders are being ignored by the federal government in favour of southern states, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says.

The Premier has criticised the Turnbull government for refusing to back what she says are key infrastructure projects less than a day before Scott Morrison will hand down his second budget as Treasurer.

"For them to say simply no money is available for Cross River Rail shows then that they're turning their back on Queensland's number one infrastructure project ," she told reporters on Monday.

Mr Morrison on Monday indicated a $5.2 billion infrastructure cash splash for the state, including a major Bruce Highway upgrade, $300 million for the Brisbane Metro project and regional roadworks, the Courier Mail reported.

But Treasurer Jackie Trad says the announcement was a repackaging of prior commitments and did not include new money for the state.

Brisbane's Cross River Rail project tops Queensland's federal budget wish list, despite the state Labor government saying it can fund the $5.4 billion project on its own.

Ms Trad has committed to bankrolling the line after failing to secure money from Mr Turnbull's government, yet it remains her number one funding request.

Mr Turnbull has made multiple trips to the state in recent months, committing to upgrading the M1 north and south of Brisbane, as well as the Bruce Highway and funding for the long-awaited Rookwood weir in Rockhampton.

New South Wales

"The more we reform, the better we perform, the more penalised we get."

CommSec's 2018 State of the States report, released in January, ranked NSW as the top-performing economy in the nation, "solidly" ahead of Victoria.

But Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull denied NSW was being short-changed, pointing to the current and combined state and commonwealth infrastructure spending of more than $21 billion in the state.

"NSW is the largest state and it obviously has a very large share of the infrastructure spending," he told reporters.

"We have an enormous amount on track in NSW."

Mr Turnbull pointed to work benefiting from federal funding now underway, including WestConnex, the western Sydney airport and the North-South rail link.

"The Victorians were saying we hadn't committed enough money there in the past and they were pointing to big projects like the Western Sydney airport, so sometimes the timing can be an issue - but right across the country now there is a massive amount of infrastructure underway," he added.

Ahead of the federal budget, Mr Perrottet refused to be drawn on what other specific projects he'd like to see funded.

"Like all great Liberal treasurers Scott Morrison will be making careful and fiscally responsible decisions that will see the federal budget return to surplus in coming years," Mr Perrottet told AAP in a statement last week.

South Australia

South Australian road and rail projects will receive $1.8 billion in Tuesday's federal budget but the opposition fears the state may have been "sold a pup".

The Gawler rail electrification project will get $220 million while $160 million will be used to duplicate Port Augusta's Joy Baluch Bridge - an improvement to the national freight network.

The remainder of the funds have been allocated to the South Road upgrade.

Premier Steven Marshall says these "significant projects" will create jobs and help grow the state's economy.

"Once completed these projects will also improve the lives of South Australians by easing traffic congestion, reducing travel times and deliver a more efficient and reliable public transport service," he said on Monday.

But Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas warned the details of the funding had not been revealed, and may not be included in Tuesday's budget.

"If the money is in the budget tomorrow night, I'll be the first to applaud it," he told reporters on Monday.

"But if the money isn't actually in there, or in the forward estimates, then we'll know that Steven Marshall and his Liberal mates have been sold a pup, and that would be a bad result for South Australia."

Several parts of South Road, which stretches from Adelaide's north to its south, have already been upgraded as part of a Coalition promise to complete the work within a decade.

The South Road and Gawler rail projects will be funded 50-50 by the state and federal governments, while the federal government will pay for 80 per cent of the bridge project.

Tasmania

Tasmania will receive more than $900 million for road and rail upgrades in Tuesday's federal budget, including money for a long-awaited cross-river bridge north of Hobart.

Canberra on Monday pledged $461 million towards a replacement for the 72-year-old bridge that crosses the River Derwent at Bridgewater as part of a national infrastructure package.

"It's been a long time coming. It's been a source of frustration - particularly for southern Tasmania," state Infrastructure Minister Jeremy Rockliff said on Monday.

"The biggest hurdle was the funds. Now we get on with it."

Labor's opposition infrastructure spokesman David O'Byrne welcomed the federal commitment but queried why it took the state Liberals, re-elected for a second term in March, so long to secure funding.

"It's a crucial piece of infrastructure and we've seen the Tasmanian Liberals sit on this plan for over four years," Mr O'Bryne told reporters.

Mr Rockliff said a construction timeframe was yet to be drawn up but building would begin "as soon as possible".

"This is a massive infrastructure project that will take some time to complete," he added.

Federal funds cover around 80 per cent of the bridge's expected cost, with the state government to cough up about $155 million.

The state government put forward a business case to Infrastructure Australia for a $576 million four-lane bridge.

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten last month pledged $100 million for a new bridge if Labor won government in Tasmania and at national level.

The existing heritage-listed bridge will remain, with the new crossing to take cars, pedestrians and bicycles.

The $920 million federal package for Tasmania also includes $400 million to improve roads, particularly the main highway in the state's north west.

The Federal budget infrastructure spend in Tasmania:

- $461 million for new Bridgewater Bridge

- $400 million for targeted road works, particularly improving the efficiency and safety of the Bass Highway corridor in the state's north

- $59.8 million for Tasmanian Freight Rail Revitalisation program

North Territory

The Northern Territory will get $280 million for upgrades to two major outback highways in Tuesday's federal budget.

It includes $180 million for the Central Arnhem Road as well as $100 million to upgrade the Buntine Highway.

There is also $1.5 billion for the Roads of Strategic Importance - Northern Australia Package, and $160 million to seal more sections of the Outback Way across the continent.

"This budget will deliver certainty for residents and businesses," Country Liberal Party Senator Nigel Scullion said.

NT Attorney General Natasha Fyles said the Gunner Labor government welcomed any investment given the difficulties of delivering services in remote areas.

"We want the federal government to acknowledge the work we're doing in the Northern Territory to close the gap (in indigenous health)," she said.

The federal government has already flagged a new Medicare item that will support the delivery of dialysis in remote areas to improve access for Indigenous people with kidney disease.

It also recently agreed to provide $550 million in matching funding with the NT government for remote indigenous housing.